(Sorry guys for the formatting bugs, I had to restore this from the internet archive.. - Evaders99)

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Welcome - Introduction
The help forums can be heavy traffic at times, so the idea is to keep your related problems all in one thread in the correct forum without cross-posting anywhere else. Doing otherwise may have your thread drop off and unanswered. Please read this thread and search the forums for your problem/resolution prior to posting. Usually, a resolution has already been posted for the major/common issues.

Forums/Site Etiquette
Before we begin in addressing common or major problems for your PHP-Nuke Installation, lets keep in mind that a well mannered, well bahaved site acts like a magnet for experienced Nuke users who are happy to help folks new to Nuke. However, poorly behaved forums will not only drive them away, but also new members. Whether or not people keep coming back for quality posting is up to each of you. Basically, if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything.

Getting Help: What you need to know
To help us help you from the moment you post your new thread, its best to provide as much detail about the problems you are running into for your PHPNuke installation. To do that a minimum of what should be posted is:

Title your thread appropriately, and not with "I need help!"

PHPNuke Version Number

Exact errors with Debug enabled

Mostly new threads here are seeking help anyway, so we know you need assistance. Instead of calling your thread "help", or "i need help", or "urgent help", title it accordingly to your problem like: "chat not loading", or "i can't download the tarball".

In addition, if you could it would be nice to see a link to the problem site (and/or page). Perhaps including a copy of the problem line from the code would be sweet too. There are sections below where you'll find simple instructions on how to enable debugging for PHPNuke and/or phpBB including resolutions to other common issues.

Giving Help - Being a PHP-Nuke Teammate
One of the most important features of PHP-Nuke is it's global reaching influence on all walks of life. Many folks come here seeking help without thought to help others out afterwards. It is our common goal to progress in PHP-Nuke both in expertise and knowledge, so if you found a way to fix something, or a tip/trick that hasn't been posted before, please by all means post it so that others may benefit from your experience/knowledge. After all, we're a global PHP-Nuke family. Plus, it gives you the chance to give back to the Nuke community.

Cannot view forums Usergroups

When you hit "View Information" and the page does not display correctly

in groupcp_user_body.tpl

Change

Code:

method="get"

TO

method="post"

Enabling Error Reporting / ALA the "blank page" - NEW

Error reporting is normally turned off, to prevent display of error messages that may include your file paths and other sensitive server information. You'll want to turn it on if you get a blank screen, in order to get specific errors.

If you are using the Patched files
in config.php

Code:

$display_errors = false;

Change false to true to enable error reporting

Using non-Patched phpNuke
depending on your version, you may have this code in config.php
If not, add it

Code:

ini_set('display_errors','0');

Change 0 to 1 to enable error reporting

Fix Group Script - NEW

Have problems on the Forums: assigning moderators, assigning user permissions, etc. You need to run the Fix Group script

Right Blocks Missing
(usually when installing the Patched files or phpNuke 7.9)

Your theme needs to be updated as follows

in theme.php

Code:

if ($index == 1) {
to:
if (defined('INDEX_FILE')) {

Connectivity Code for MySQL There are a couple versions of testers out there. One from Humpa and another from NukeCops.com. See below for details...

Nuke Cops has released a brand new connection analyzer for PHP-Nuke 6.5, that should work also for PHP-Nuke 6.0 with phpBB2 forums port 2.0.6. Download it now and place it where you config.php file is located.

Next, thanks go out to Humpa for this snip. Upload it to your base PHP-Nuke installation and run it from your browser.

If config.php is correctly setup and you look closely on the web pages you'll notice instances like Version_Num from nuke_config which means it's grabbing the value for prefix which in this case is nuke, i'd check the following:

1)Make sure the database tables exist by using phpMyAdmin or similar tool.

2)If the database tables are there then see if they start with nuke, your config.php expects them to, so if they exist but the tables start with another name like hey_access instead of nuke_access, open config.php and change $prefix and $user_prefix to the word showing before each table name, no need to add the underscore (_)

3)If the first two items check ok then open config.php and make sure $dbtype is MySQL, it is case sensitive.

Preferences Not Saving
chatserv wrote:

Quote:

The footer lines are not supposed to be deleted, instead fix them.

Or...
Mantrid wrote:

Quote:

Copy footer 1 and footer 3 to a text file for later use
Delete footer 1 and footer 3, then save
Replace all single quotes in footer 1 text with double quotes and put back in footer 1, then save
Replace all single quotes in footer 3 text with double quotes and put back in footer 3, then save

Users not staying logged in - Offline

Mage wrote:

Quote:

tweak for Your_Account, found at Nukescripts.net. Now the logins work perfectly

For those wanting the tweak for Your Account and phpBB forums port, go here.

Both tweaks will also enable your users to select their own passwords too among other features.

Cannot Add Header Information
Raven wrote:
The most simple solution to try, is to turn output_buffering on

If you control your php.ini file, do this:
output_buffering = On

Or, create/add this line to an .htaccess file and place it in your Nuke root directory:
PHP_FLAG output_buffering On

Lastly, try placing this line as the first line of code in your mainfile.php, after the comment block. This has to be made available for every script you use, so either you code it in every script or strategically place it in a script that is common to all scripts.
ini_set("output_buffering","1");

When installing on windows many people get issues with the undefined variables, failed logins and other problems, turning off error_reporting by placing a semi-colon in front of it (php.ini) will get rid of these "errors", these are not considered real errors and are mostly warnings, users with experience on windows installation of PHP-Nuke have recommended the following changes be made to the php.ini file:

find register_globals and set to On

find error_reporting and turn that off by putting a semicolon in front of it

If you don't have the NukeNews theme uploaded in your site then change the value for $def_theme = "Insert_Theme_Name_Here"; so that it reflects one of your working themes, save it, upload it, then point your browser to http://yoursite.com/fixtheme.php

What is chmod?
Zhen-Xjell wrote:
chmod = change mode, or change attributes of a file or directory

666 or 777, lets break that down to xyz

x (or the first digit on the left) stands for the owner of the file or dir.
y represents the group who owns the file or dir.
z represents the rest of the world

Even if you enter the correct url but add a traling slash at the end of the url it will make the activation link fail too mainly because nuke already adds the trailing slash, so if your site is at http://www.someurl.com/ and you enter http://www.someurl.com/ under Site URL the link will have two trailing slashes when emailed to all new members, naturally this will result in an error.

Copy/Use
Feel free to copy any or all portions of this text for use on your PHP-Nuke site with the restriction that credits are given where credits are due.

Conclusion
That's it folks, and I hope this helps out everyone in the long run. This message shall most likely be updated from time to time to better prepare first timers. Thanks go to all the folks who help for free.